You can refer to the troubleshooting guide below to fix any errors (including, but not limited to Alien Breed 3 Descent Game Not Launching), crashes, freezes and other game breaking problems you experience while playing the game.
Alien Breed 3: Descent Game Bug Fixes
Alien Breed 3: Descent is a 3rd person shooter game in which players assume the role of a soldier fighting aliens aboard a stranded space station. Players collect weapons on the go as they battle it out to regain the control of the space station.
Save Game Problem – Fix
If you are having trouble saving your game, try this:
Reset the location of “My Documents” to default (no need to move your files):
Play the game until you’ve got your first save, and then select your save files location to “My Documents” again (this time moving the files).
All you have to do then is to move the contents of “Copy of My Games” folder to “My Games” folder and you should be good to go.
Sound Problem – Low Sound Fix
If you have Windows 7 and are having sound problems with the Windows system sounds (very low volume) after playing or just trying to play co-op in Alien Breed 3, it is NOT a sound bug.
This issue pops up because of an option in Control Panel > Sound > Manage > Audio Devices > Communications tab, that is set to “reduces sound volume by 80%” by default, when Windows detects communications activity. Check “Do Nothing” and all audio will revert back to normal state.
Crashes at Launch – Start up Crash Fix
Make sure your firewall is not blocking the game, or not conflicting with the game executable. Better add this to exception list or disable firewall and antivirus. Most of the crashes are because of the firewall/antivirus conflict with the game.
Random Freezes ingame – Fix
If your game freezes while playing Alien Breed 3 or at the start of any sequence, you need to update your video card drivers.
AB3 Demo Conflict
This error usually occurs iof you’ve installed the demo of Alien Breed 3 before buying the full version. Uninstall the demo before you install the full version of Alien Breed 3, most of the issues have been reported due to full game version conflicting with the installed demo files.
AB3 Lags at Start, Start Up Freezes, Crash to Desktop
You can try these:
- Update your video card drivers.
- Update DirectX
- Re-install PhysX *Important*
- Update Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Libraries
- Run the game in compatibility mode as admin.
- Update your Sound Card Drivers. *Important*
AB3 Doesn’t Start
If you have an external sound card in place, you may also have to update your primary sound card drivers before you might be able to start the game. It may sound like black magic, but it definitely does work.
AB3 Freezes at Startup, Doesn’t Proceed Further
Re-install the game.
How to Install – Re-install PhysX
- Use PhysX version uninstaller.
- Use Driver Sweeper to clean out remaining .dll files.
- Install PhysX that was bundled with your current video drivers.
At this point the game should work again.
Alien Breed 3 Out of Range Error
Right click on ‘Alien Swarm’ in Steam > Properties > Set launch options.
Add -w 1024 -h 768 -refresh 60”. Run the game, and change video settings in game options to this resolution and refresh rate. It happens because your monitor doesn’t support default resolution. Remove this command line after you have changed the video settings.
Unable to Load .dll file
Verify the integrity of the files.
Tried to run AB3, but nothing happened. How to fix?
Try running the game in administrator mode, or in Windows XP SP2 compatibility.
Alien Breed 3 Launcher Problem
- Restart Steam.
- Restart Computer.
- Go the folder and launch the application directly.
- Validate integrity of game cache.
If that doesn’t work, try this:
- Go the folder in your steam index/common/alien breed 3/
- delete the Type.file “srcds_run” and then re-validate the Integrity of Game Cache.
Stuttering Issues, Lag Spikes, Performance Drops
If your game seizes after a few seconds of gameplay, these freezes will make the game highly unplayable. Try disabling multicore rendering and see if it helps solve the issue.
AB3 DirectX problem
Make sure you have the latest DirectX installed before you try this fix. Here’s how you try this fix:
- Open STEAM and Log in (The game doesn’t work if you aren’t logged in STEAM)
- Go to
C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\Common\alien breed 3 Double-click onalien breed 3 exe, or make a shortcut of that file. Then boot it.
The game should work totally fine now.
Black Screen Error
If you happen to come across a permanent black screen as soon as you start up the game, head over to Steam and try this fix:
Right click on ‘Alien Swarm’ in Steam > Properties > Set launch options.
Add -w 1024 -h 768 -refresh 60”. Run the game, and change video settings in game options to this resolution and refresh rate. It happens because your monitor doesn’t support default resolution.
Microphone Bug
This should be an audio driver issue. Look in the recording options of Steam for something like “Stereo Mix” and turn it off.”
Alien Breed: Descent Driver Crash
Roll Back to previous drivers if the game crashes on the new drivers. A recommended version is 197.50.
Alien Breed: Descent Crashes, Freezes, and Fixes
If the game doesn’t launch, and suffers from an Alien Breed 3 Descent game not launching issue, try these fixes:
- Update DirectX
- Update Sound Card Drivers.
- Update PhsyX – Reinstall.
- Update C++ Runtime Libraries.
- Try different video card drivers.
No HUD fix
In rare cases, the HUD of the game might disappear. This might happen because of wide-screen monitors or because of unique resolutions. To refresh the HUD and make it show again ingame, perform the following steps:
Head over to : Users\\Documents\My Games\UnrealEngine3\AlienBreed3DescentGame\Config\
Open AlienBreed3DescentInput.ini file with a notepad.
Below [ExampleGame.ABPlayerInput], type:
Bindings=(Name="Subtract",Command="Ghost",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="Subtract",Command="Walk",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=True,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="Multiply",Command="Tiledshot 5 128",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="NumPadOne",Command="PlayersOnly",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="Add",Command="Pause",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="PageDown",Command="Camera ThirdPerson",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="PageUp",Command="Camera Fixed",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="Home",Command="Camera FixedTracking",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Bindings=(Name="Insert",Command="Camera FreeCam",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
Save the file.
In-game press “Pause” to toggle HUD on/off.
